The Messenger
|Next_book = }} is the sixth book in the Gabriel Allon series. An attack is made on the Vatican, Ari Shamron is injured in an attempted assassination, and Gabriel mounts an operation to punish those responsible. The Briefcase In October, a recruiter and talent spotter for al-Qaeda is being followed in London by an agent of the Office. He panics and runs to escape. The last thing he does is to step in front of a delivery truck. His shadow picks up Massoudi's briefcase and laptop computer. When the computer reaches King Saul Boulevard the next morning, it is found to be a gold mine of information: personnel, accounts and surveillance photos of planned operations. The first packet of intelligence is forwarded to the prime minister's officer the same afternoon. Ari Shamron takes a portion of that packet to Gabriel Allon at his home, where Gabriel is finishing the restoration of a painting by Rubens for Julian Isherwood in London. Ari shows him images from Massoudi's laptop of the Pope and facilities around the public areas of Vatican City. He also tells him about the evidence that a Saudi Arabian prince is financing the planned operation against the Catholic Church and that Monsignor Luigi Donati, the Pope's private secretary, is coming to Israel to meet with Gabriel. The Attacks The next morning, Gabriel shows the pictures to Donati. Donati points out that the pictures were all taken during the Pope's general audience held each Wednesday. Gabriel responds that the current day is Tuesday. Donati decides to return to Rome immediately and tells Gabriel that he is to accompany him. In Rome, Gabriel meets with the Pope and with both Vatican and Italian security officers. Donati gives Gabriel a security badge that will admit him to almost anywhere in the Vatican and tells him to make a nuisance of himself the next day. Gabriel walks to the Office safe house. Once inside, he calls Chiara Zolli in Venice but is unprepared to talk to her. On Wednesday morning, Donati arranges access for Gabriel to files about people with temporary access to the Vatican. Gabriel identifies Ibrahim el-Banna as a potential threat. Gabriel goes to el-Banna's office, which he finds has been cleared out except for a single envelope on el-Banna's desk. The envelope contains a declaration of war against the Catholic Church by the Brotherhood of Allah. Gabriel runs for the audience location at St. Peter's Basilica. Gabriel arrives at St. Peter's Basilica too late. Three suicide bombers set off their bombs. They are followed by attacks by three men armed with RPG-7s which are aimed at the basilica. Pope Paul VII is severely injured. Meanwhile, Ibrahim el-Banna has slipped away from the Vatican to an apartment in Rome from which he expects to travel to Saudi Arabia; when he opens the apartment door, an explosion kills him. In Washington, D.C., a woman awakes from a nightmare about an aircraft in flames, turns on her television to the news about the Vatican attack and thinks, "God, no, not again." Over the next week, while Gabriel remains in Rome, authorities learn that the three bombers were Europeans who had converted to Islam and that the three men armed with rockets were Jordanians. The death of Ibrahim el-Banna is discovered. Gabriel is invited to meet with Pope Paul VII. They discuss the near future. Pope Paul suggests that the search for the people who attacked the Vatican and him will soon be the responsibility of Gabriel and his associates. As they part, the Pope tells Gabriel that Francesco Tiepolo and Chiara both want to see him before he leaves Italy. Gabriel goes to Venice to see Chiara. They make love and he professes his love for her. Returning to Jerusalem, Gabriel finds Ari Shamron at his apartment. Ari tells Gabriel that Ibrahim el-Banna is linked to the Saudis. El-Banna's activities were at least partially funded by a Saudi operative named Ahmed bin Shafiq. Ari expresses his reluctance at having to share intelligence with other nations, but tells Gabriel to fly to Washington the next morning to brief the Americans. After discussing Gabriel's relationship with Chiara, Ari leaves in his armored vehicle with his bodyguards. A few minutes later, Gabriel hears an explosion. Gabriel finds Gilah Shamron in Ari's room at a hospital. Gilah is holding Ari's leather jacket with the mysterious tear. Gabriel tells her that her husband's car was attacked using a abnormally large bomb. Gilah says that their son and daughter are coming. She also tells Gabriel that Ari's cancer has returned. They discuss Gabriel's history as an assassin and the attack on Leah and Dani. As Gabriel is leaving to see the prime minister, Gilah tells him that Ari accidentally tore the jacket when he heard about Leah and Dani and the would never allow Gilah to repair the damage. She gives the jacket to Gabriel. Gabriel meets with the prime minister and Amos Sharret. The prime minister tells him that his mission is to track down and punish the people who attacked Ari Shamron. Amos tells Gabriel that his meeting with Adrian Carter has been moved from Washington to London. The Plans Gabriel meets Adrian Carter. They discuss Wahhabism and Ahmed bin Shafiq. Carter points out that militant Saudis want to use oil as a weapon, denying it to non-Muslims; he mentions AAB Holdings of Riyadh and its chief executive officer, Abdul Aziz al-Bakari (known as Zizi). Al-Bakari is the banker for the Saudi royal family. Gabriel notes that al-Bakari is an art collector. When Gabriel suggests that Zizi could be tried for supporting terrorism, Carter responds that he is untouchable because of his contacts with the Saudi royal family and because of the royal family's ability to apply pressure to the U. S. political process. Carter tells Gabriel that the President of the United States wants a favor; he wants an agent inserted into the house of al-Bakari and, if the opportunity presents itself, for Ahmed bin Shafiq to be killed. Gabriel says he will recommend that the Office grant the favor. Gabriel assembles Group bin Shafiq. Rome/Vatican City/Venice